A teacher of the Law of Moses spoke up, "Teacher, you said cruel things about us." Jesus replied: You teachers are also in for trouble! You load people down with heavy burdens, but you won?t lift a finger to help them carry the loads. Yes, you are really in for trouble. You build monuments to honor the prophets your own people murdered long ago. You must think that was the right thing for your people to do, or else you would not have built monuments for the prophets they murdered.
Because of your evil deeds, the Wisdom of God said, "I will send prophets and apostles to you. But you will murder some and mistreat others." You people living today will be punished for all the prophets who have been murdered since the beginning of the world. This includes every prophet from the time of Abel to the time of Zechariah, who was murdered between the altar and the temple. You people will certainly be punished for all of this.
You teachers of the Law of Moses are really in for trouble! You carry the keys to the door of knowledge about God. But you never go in, and you keep others from going in. Jesus was about to leave, but the teachers and the Pharisees wanted to get even with him. They tried to make him say what he thought about other things, so that they could catch him saying something wrong.
Warnings
As thousands of people crowded around Jesus and were stepping on each other, he told his disciples: Be sure to guard against the dishonest teaching of the Pharisees! It is their way of fooling people. Everything that is hidden will be found out, and every secret will be known. Whatever you say in the dark will be heard when it is day. Whatever you whisper in a closed room will be shouted from the housetops.
The One To Fear
My friends, don?t be afraid of people. They can kill you, but after that, there is nothing else they can do. God is the one you must fear. Not only can he take your life, but he can throw you into hell. God is certainly the one you should fear! Five sparrows are sold for just two pennies, but God doesn?t forget a one of them. Even the hairs on your head are counted. So don?t be afraid! You are worth much more than many sparrows.
Telling Others about Christ
If you tell others that you belong to me, the Son of Man will tell God?s angels that you are my followers. But if you reject me, you will be rejected in front of them. If you speak against the Son of Man, you can be forgiven, but if you speak against the Holy Spirit, you cannot be forgiven. When you are brought to trial in the Jewish meeting places or before rulers or officials, don?t worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say. At that time the Holy Spirit will tell you what to say.